NEW YORK--The new Motorola Droid got a sleepy reception on Friday morning when it officially went on sale across the country in Verizon Wireless stores starting at 7 a.m. in some places.

From New York to San Francisco, most stores around the country had few if any lines when doors opened Friday morning. There was a handful of people waiting outside at the Verizon Wireless store on West 34th Street here in Manhattan. And about 20 people waited in line outside a store here on Sixth Avenue, as well as at one in Clifton, N.J., Verizon officials said.

CNET reporters in San Francisco reported they saw only about 15 customers lined up for the device before a Verizon Wireless store opened there Friday.

The scene was somewhat more lively last night, when Verizon Wireless opened its West 34th Street in New York City from midnight to 2 a.m. About 100 eager Droid customers were in line when the store opened last night. Verizon spokesman David Samberg said the company sold 85 Droids in the first 45 minutes the store was open on Thursday night.

But even though the Droid didn't stir enough enthusiasm to get people to stand outside on a cold November morning, there appeared to be a steady stream of customers in several Verizon Wireless stores. Many customers were interested in the Droid, while some were checking out the new HTC Android Eris, which also went on sale Friday.

Lines are overratedSamberg said that a lack of a long line or shortage of devices is actually a good thing. And he urged people to not prejudge the phone's success on that alone.

"Long lines forming outside are flashy," he said. "But it's not really the goal. What we really want to see is this: a steady stream of people coming today and for the next few weeks buying new phones."

While the lines, or lack of lines as the case may be, are far less dramatic than the hoopla surrounding an Apple iPhone launch, analysts are quick to point out that Verizon sold about one million of the buggy BlackBerry Storms in the first three months when those devices went on sale a year ago.

So far the reviews and customer feedback on the new Droid have been positive. The sharp display and cool applications like Google Maps with navigation are impressing customers. But the slow and sometimes blurry 5-megapixel camera was a noticeable negative, even for prospective customers checking out the device in the store.

"The software is slick," said Chirag Patel, 33, who was in the West 34th Street store checking out both the Droid and the Eris. "It's much better than the G1 on T-Mobile, but the camera is very slow. And it got a little hung up when I played around with it here in the store."

Surprisingly, Patel said he liked the look and feel of the HTC Android Eris better than the Droid, but he probably wouldn't buy it because it isn't yet running the latest 2.0 version of the Android operating system. While reviewers have praised the Droid's software, the physical design of the device is a bit clunky. And the device itself is heavier than many other phones in its class. For this reason, among others, Patel said he'd take the weekend to think over his Droid purchase.

"I really don't want to be carrying around a 100-pound block in my pocket," he said. "I can already imagine it weighing down the pocket of my cargo shorts in the summer. So I have to really think about whether I want to lug this thing around for two years."

everyone who can afford a 200 dollar phone already has a 2 year contract with a $200 phone by now...haha

Precisely. A lot of people are restructuring their contracts and extending them just to get this phone. I knew I shouldn't have gotten the Storm! Haha, nah jk. Something better is always coming, so you just gotta know when to jump in. I'm fine with my Storm for now, but as soon as I get some spare cash you best believe I'm going Android.

Fan Since:When Magic crossed over the entire Warriors team in like 88. Chis Gatling looked like he was gonna cry.

Fav. Laker:KB

Posted November 09, 2009 - 08:08 AM

This is a long question (sorry). I need to explain what I want first so people can answer accuratley. I know theres some good techies here.

My Verizon contract was up months ago. I've been paying month to month w/ no contract. I do need a new phone because my 3 year old razor buttons are staring to fail in function and even falling off. I went in to a verizon store to see the Droid. It was ok to me. Not a life changer. Of course no phone is to me.They wont give me a good phone with a qwerty keyboard that doesnt have extra internet usage charges.I dont understand why so many people get excited about spending $360 yearly, additional to your normal calling plan (about $1200/year) to enable looking at the internet on a 3" screen.

The marketing behind it is that people can update their facebook accounts, or can update twitter accounts while on the road. They even front these logos on TV ads to help get their point across. SO WHAT!Why the [expletive] are people so stupid to spend $360 a year ($30/month charge) to do that.There is no usefull reason for 99% of the world to have internet on your phone UNLESS ITS A FREE NOVELTY.Here are some actual reasons I could think of for people to pay for internet phone usage.1. Your a succesfull stock broker, stuck in traffic and for some reason dont have a wifi stock terminal in your limo/Escalade (?). You can check quotes and decide to trade, sell or buy fast.2. You ride the subway, bus or car pool to work and you want to read the morning paper, but you live in Seattle and there is no more "paper". Its all online now so you can read it on your phone and have coffee.

I dont sell stocks and I dont ride a muni bus. So non of that applies to me.

Sharing pics of yourself or making tweets or checking sports scores for $360/year is not a charge, its a jack. The internet is 100% funded by advertising. So your actually paying extra money to see advertisements. I would gladly pay $360/year to have no advertisements on my TV. That is the contrast I face.

Having your email forwarded to you so you can "stay in constant comunication" to better handle business is a scam. Real business people that make real money know that any email someone sends them can wait till they're ready to address it. 1 hour, 12 hours, or overnight is not usually a deal breaker to view a email. If its that important of a decision or conversation to have its done in person, over the phone or through attorneys who take their sweet [expletive] time anyway.

And if you think its helping you fortify a great "on the job relationship" with your employer, you are wrong again. Your employer is taking advantage of you and loving the fact its not a company expense for you to put on your own $360/year leash so your available 24/7. If its that crucial, why doesnt the company pay for it? If its helping you by giving you an extra "go to" advantage, then why does everybody else have the same type of internet/phones allready? You got hustled. You gave yourself a $360 paycut and didnt even know it.

I want a good new decent phone. I like texting. I see the value in that. Its easy simple communication thats affordable and even free. I know I want a QUERTY keyboard to make it easier/faster. I like to use my cell to talk. Thats what its for right?Other than that I dont care about the aps, gps and all the other crap. I like music but I use itunes and have a nano. More on that later.But to get a decent upgraded phone Verizon is forcing me to spend the $30/month on internet usage i'll never use. Its a johnny hu$tle in the worst way.

Honestly Iphones have a good purpose. Its a ipod to. I love my nano 5. It plays in my new Civic EX and I dont have to do anything. I just plug it into the USB and voila! Download, sync, plug, play. So I give the nod to itunes. They cornered the market and even car companies like Honda recognize that and make features around it.They didnt make my car compatible with the Droid or the BlackBerry, or V-Cast or whatever. It was designed and made to work with the ipod or iphone. I might just switch to att because of that. But years ago att reception only worked inside my house.....lol. Once on the road it was unpredictable.

there are plenty more businessmen than just stock brokers that use the internet access on their phone ALL THE TIME for work...i know several personally (and some companies do pay for it)

aside from that, people can and will spend their money on whatever they WANT...there are some people that would think it was stupid to spend x amount of money on a designer shirt/jeans...or a purse or something, or an extravagant house with more bedrooms than they'll ever need, or even a 300,000 lambourghini where the insurance costs you more monthly than anyone elses normal car payments...or 135 bucks on kobe shoes...

people have their preferences about what they feel is worth it for them to spend their money on, its simply different for everyone else and if it makes them happy, its not dumb...its not stupid to do something that you want to do regardless of what others thing about it

i pay $15 bucks for unlimited internet access with my env touch (smart phones and blackberrys are the 30+ dollar ones i think) and its worth it to me because i work late a lot of the time and i want to be able to check sports scores when i want...with how much money i make, 15 bucks a month is very reasonable for that perk to me, and thats all i really use the internet for.

sorry, not sure if this answers your question because i don't know too much about phones...just wanted to speak on people paying for the internet. most phones don't require you to get the internet by the way...so it sounds like you should just get a phone and not pay extra for the internet

This is a long question (sorry). I need to explain what I want first so people can answer accuratley. I know theres some good techies here.

My Verizon contract was up months ago. I've been paying month to month w/ no contract. I do need a new phone because my 3 year old razor buttons are staring to fail in function and even falling off. I went in to a verizon store to see the Droid. It was ok to me. Not a life changer. Of course no phone is to me.They wont give me a good phone with a qwerty keyboard that doesnt have extra internet usage charges.I dont understand why so many people get excited about spending $360 yearly, additional to your normal calling plan (about $1200/year) to enable looking at the internet on a 3" screen.

The marketing behind it is that people can update their facebook accounts, or can update twitter accounts while on the road. They even front these logos on TV ads to help get their point across. SO WHAT!Why the [expletive] are people so stupid to spend $360 a year ($30/month charge) to do that.There is no usefull reason for 99% of the world to have internet on your phone UNLESS ITS A FREE NOVELTY.Here are some actual reasons I could think of for people to pay for internet phone usage.1. Your a succesfull stock broker, stuck in traffic and for some reason dont have a wifi stock terminal in your limo/Escalade (?). You can check quotes and decide to trade, sell or buy fast.2. You ride the subway, bus or car pool to work and you want to read the morning paper, but you live in Seattle and there is no more "paper". Its all online now so you can read it on your phone and have coffee.

I dont sell stocks and I dont ride a muni bus. So non of that applies to me.

Sharing pics of yourself or making tweets or checking sports scores for $360/year is not a charge, its a jack. The internet is 100% funded by advertising. So your actually paying extra money to see advertisements. I would gladly pay $360/year to have no advertisements on my TV. That is the contrast I face.

Having your email forwarded to you so you can "stay in constant comunication" to better handle business is a scam. Real business people that make real money know that any email someone sends them can wait till they're ready to address it. 1 hour, 12 hours, or overnight is not usually a deal breaker to view a email. If its that important of a decision or conversation to have its done in person, over the phone or through attorneys who take their sweet [expletive] time anyway.

And if you think its helping you fortify a great "on the job relationship" with your employer, you are wrong again. Your employer is taking advantage of you and loving the fact its not a company expense for you to put on your own $360/year leash so your available 24/7. If its that crucial, why doesnt the company pay for it? If its helping you by giving you an extra "go to" advantage, then why does everybody else have the same type of internet/phones allready? You got hustled. You gave yourself a $360 paycut and didnt even know it.

I want a good new decent phone. I like texting. I see the value in that. Its easy simple communication thats affordable and even free. I know I want a QUERTY keyboard to make it easier/faster. I like to use my cell to talk. Thats what its for right?Other than that I dont care about the aps, gps and all the other crap. I like music but I use itunes and have a nano. More on that later.But to get a decent upgraded phone Verizon is forcing me to spend the $30/month on internet usage i'll never use. Its a johnny hu$tle in the worst way.

Honestly Iphones have a good purpose. Its a ipod to. I love my nano 5. It plays in my new Civic EX and I dont have to do anything. I just plug it into the USB and voila! Download, sync, plug, play. So I give the nod to itunes. They cornered the market and even car companies like Honda recognize that and make features around it.They didnt make my car compatible with the Droid or the BlackBerry, or V-Cast or whatever. It was designed and made to work with the ipod or iphone. I might just switch to att because of that. But years ago att reception only worked inside my house.....lol. Once on the road it was unpredictable.